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Friday, December 31, 2010

So, if you are a nerd and were counting the photos in the last two posts, you would have noticed there were only 34 when I said I had chosen 35. Here is the last photo. I saved the best one for last.

I should probably tell you the story behind this photo. This is my grandmother. Her name was Evelyn. She passed away on February 27 this year. I took this photo on January 14. I didn't know it at the time, but this would be my last visit with her before her stroke. That makes this photo the most valuable photo I took in all of 2010. It wasn't even my idea to take it, either. Here's the blog post that tells the story behind this photo if you'd like to read it.

When I look at this photo, it reminds me of the incredible power of photography. I treasure this photo, and several others. We all have certain photos that have more meaning to us than others. Some of them are fuzzy snapshots, in fact, most of them probably are. The power of photography doesn't come from the technical ability of the camera operator, although it helps. The power of photography is in being in the right place at the right moment. If you know what you're doing with the camera once you've made it to the right place at the right moment, well, that's just icing. And that's what I try to do every time I pick up my camera. I try to be in the right place at the right time and then nail the shot. Because my goal is to make photos for people that they can look at later and be able to remember THAT moment as clearly as if it was just yesterday.